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coming VS arrival

Howdy,

Now I'm having a difficult time with similar words... Here's another pair: coming VS arrival Can they be used interchangeably? Always? What about this sentence? With the _____ of the Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden

Re: coming VS arrival

Originally Posted by forum_mail

Howdy,

Now I'm having a difficult time with similar words... Here's another pair: coming VS arrival Can they be used interchangeably? Always? What about this sentence? With the _____ of the Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden

Re: coming VS arrival

Originally Posted by forum_mail

well... why???

I did not say 'coming' is wrong in the original sentence. I only said to me 'with the arrival of' sounded better (idiomatic). The reason might be that I have seen arrival in such contexts more than coming.

Re: coming VS arrival

Originally Posted by forum_mail

Howdy,

Now I'm having a difficult time with similar words... Here's another pair: coming VS arrival Can they be used interchangeably? Always? What about this sentence? With the _____ of the Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden

Thanks

With the arrival of Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden.
With the coming of Christianity to Europe, tattooing was forbidden.
Note: no article before 'Christianity'.

Re: coming VS arrival

Originally Posted by forum_mail

Howdy,

Now I'm having a difficult time with similar words... Here's another pair: coming VS arrival Can they be used interchangeably? Always? What about this sentence? With the _____ of the Christianity in Europe, tattooing was forbidden

Thanks

To your wider question, no they are not generally interchangeable.
The fact that coming is a gerund and present participle is reason enough not to exchange the noun arrival for what could be one of several parts of speech under the circumstances.
Also in religious contexts, 'coming' is common where 'arrival' doesn't work: "The second coming", "the coming of the Lord" ...
Because of this connotation, I'd avoid 'coming' in sentences such as:
"My arrival was greeted with widespread greetings".
Also, 'coming' has a sexual usage that would make it awkward as a synonym for arrival:
* She was pleased with my early coming.

Another difference:
"They looked forward to our arrival"
"They looked forward to our coming"The first implies to me that it is the arrival mainly that they are looking forward to, whereas the second implies that the actual being there is expected to give them pleasure as well.